The Rose Blossoms Bloom
by Kourin Lucrece
Summary: A story in which a different girl becomes miko, and her struggles through Konan. Rates PG-13 for a swearing bandit. Baad Genrou! Chapter One edited!


Disclaimer: I own nothing more than my imagination! (and maybe some books)  
  
Warnings: um. sushi? Flamin' fans and Tasuki's mouth!  
  
~Chapter 1: The Blushing Bud~  
  
A-chan slipped into the bookstore. What a horrible day it had been! First, her brother had forgotten her birthday. Then she had lost her temper at school, yelled back at a teacher and gotten into serious trouble. Oh well...  
  
She smiled lightly at the owner, Kuru-san, and walked into the stacks. "Fantasy, sci-fi, foreign languages. Here we go! Chinese folklore." She smiled and looked for a new book on the shelves. Finding one, she pulled out a leather bound book and headed back towards the counter. It hadn't been here yesterday... Maybe Kuru-san had gotten a new shipment of books early.  
  
"When did you get this book in, sempai?" A-chan asked, handing it over to the old man so that she could pay.  
  
He turned the book over. "The Universe of the Four Gods? I don't remember seeing it before," he said slowly. Then he smiled and handed the book back to her. "Tanjobi Omedeto, A-chan." (Happy Birthday, A-chan.)  
  
"Domo Arigato, sempai!" A-chan said with a surprised grin and hurried home. Someone had remembered!  
  
Getting back to her house, she didn't even bother to drop her backpack, but merely sat down in her room and began to read...  
  
'Herein contains the tale of a young lady and her quest to gather the seven Constellations of Suzaku together. And if you, the esteemed reader, read to the story's end, the spell contained within this book shall bestow upon you the powers of the heroine, and grant your wish. For indeed the moment the page is turned, the story will become reality.'  
  
There was a bright flash of red light, followed by darkness and her room faded away...  
  
~~~  
  
"Oi, Kouji! Why hasn't anything interesting been goin' on t'day?" Genrou complained.  
  
"I dunno! Jus' shut up so people on the road dunno we're here, dammit!" Kouji replied impatiently, glaring at his fiery haired friend.  
  
"I jus' wish somethin' new would happen," he grumbled back. Kouji smacked him upside the head, and a small fight ensued.  
  
Neither even noticed a red light flash in the air, until a girl came down with a scream... Right onto Genrou's head.  
  
"Itai... Ah! Gomen nasai!!" The girl exclaimed, realizing what she had landed on and helping the boy up. "Gomen! Daijobu ka?"  
  
"Freakin' psycho..." he muttered. "Heiki, daijobu..."  
  
Brushing himself off, Genrou studied the girl who had landed on him. She was about as tall as his shoulder and extremely thin, though not bony. She had red hair almost brushing her shoulders and wide amber eyes stared back at him. A blush stained tan cheeks, but what he noticed was that she was dressed so oddly! A sleeveless crimson shirt showed a vaguely more than boyish form, while strange black pants showed long legs and black boots. She was actually kinda cute... Ack! Wait, he hated girls, right?  
  
"Who th' hell are ya anyway?" Kouji demanded, wondering why Genrou had gone silent all of a sudden. Maybe he hit his head too hard... "Did you fall from that tree?"  
  
The girl's blush deepened and she bowed. "I'm Bara Azayaka, but everyone calls me A-chan." She realized in the back of her mind they were speaking Chinese and was vaguely confused when it registered in her mind as Japanese. Why were they speaking in a different language than she seemed to be hearing? What was going on here? Had she fallen asleep?  
  
"Well, A-chan, I'm Kouji and this idiot is Genrou." He blinked at her odd clothes. "Where ya from anyway?"  
  
"I'm from Tokyo. But this sure doesn't look like it..." She looked around at the odd scenery. (Kourin: Gee, Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore... Kitsu: Shut up! Kourin: -.-;; my story!)  
  
"To Key Oh? Where's that?" He blinked again. "Well, this is Mt. Reikaku!"  
  
"I didn't hurt your friend did I? He awful quiet." A-chan commented, a blush staining her cheeks again.  
  
"I fuckin' hate girls," Genrou muttered.  
  
"Well guys aren't always that great either," A-chan countered, raising her eyebrows.  
  
Kouji, on the other hand, was still wondering about Tokyo. He'd never even heard of that before. Not that bandits knew everything, but still... There was something nagging at the back of his mind. Something the old boss had said...  
  
Before the old boss had died, he had said that Genrou would have to leave because of a girl from another world. That he was a Suzaku no Shichi Seishi... Tasuki. Could this girl be...? He gasped. "You're Suzaku no Miko!"  
  
A-chan and Genrou looked up from their argument. "Nani?!"  
  
"Suzaku no miko," Kouji explained patiently. "The girl from another world who is s'posed to gather her seishi and save Konan."  
  
"Excuse me?" A-chan asked. "Isn't Suzaku no miko a legend?"  
  
"I doubt that. Other wise th' boss would've told us." He smiled; glad to prove he knew something to this odd stranger. "Besides, Genrou's a freakin' seishi."  
  
"I ain't leavin'" Genrou muttered stubbornly, fangs sticking out.  
  
Kouji hit him upside the head again. "Well someone's gotta take her to the capital. Ya moron!"  
  
"But I'm th' boss now! I gotta stay with the bandits!"  
  
Kouji frowned and turned to the girl, who was watching them with amusement, mixed with confusion. "Well, while we argue, you can stay at the Mt. Reikaku stronghold for the night."  
  
She smiled. "Thanks." A little voice in the back of her head was telling her just to accept everything. She would wake up soon, right? Maybe she should lay off reading legends for a little while... They were affecting her imagination...  
  
A traveler wandered up the road with his wagon, coming across the 2- arguing bandits and on looking girl. He stopped, seeing the tessen hanging from the red-haired bandit's belt and a hand flew to his purse.  
  
The fighting stopped, and both turned to look at the merchant. Twin grins spread on their faces; they worked together as a team when it came to being bandits. The man was sent on his way with a considerably lighter purse.  
  
As the sun set in the west, the three headed back to the shrine at the bottom of the mountain. They had made quite a bit of money that day, and even A-chan had helped, after watching a few times.  
  
As they knelt in front of the small alter, Genrou looked at the statue of Suzaku and let his thoughts run their course. 'Why me? I know I wished for excitement, but of the bandit sort! I don't want to leave.'  
  
They finished their prayers, and lead their guest back to the domain of the bandits.  
  
//End Chapter 1// So, what do you think so far? I like this version of the first chapter better. It isn't too different, but hey, I like it now... kinda... R&R! 


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